Vermont soldier is 1st woman to graduate as combat engineer

Wilson Ring, Associated Press

December 5, 2015

Photo: Wilson Ring, STF

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In this Dec. 3, 2015, photo, Vermont National Guard Spc. Skylar Anderson, the first female in the Army to qualify as a combat engineer, poses at Camp Johnson in Colchester, Vt. Anderson said she didn't know when she started the training course to become a combat engineer that she would be the first female to graduate. The military has opened up a number of combat jobs to women that were once reserved for men only. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring) less

In this Dec. 3, 2015, photo, Vermont National Guard Spc. Skylar Anderson, the first female in the Army to qualify as a combat engineer, poses at Camp Johnson in Colchester, Vt. Anderson said she didn't know ... more

Photo: Wilson Ring, STF

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In this Dec. 3, 2015, photo, Vermont National Guard Spc. Skylar Anderson, the first female in the Army to qualify as a combat engineer, poses at Camp Johnson in Colchester, Vt. Anderson said she didn't know when she started the training course to become a combat engineer that she would be the first female to graduate. The military has opened up a number of combat jobs to women that were once reserved for men only. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring) less

In this Dec. 3, 2015, photo, Vermont National Guard Spc. Skylar Anderson, the first female in the Army to qualify as a combat engineer, poses at Camp Johnson in Colchester, Vt. Anderson said she didn't know ... more

Photo: Wilson Ring, STF

Vermont soldier is 1st woman to graduate as combat engineer

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COLCHESTER, Vt. - A Vermont National Guard soldier is the first woman in the U.S. Army to qualify as a combat engineer.

Spc. Skylar Anderson, of Derry, N.H., says it was a "big eye-opener" when her instructors told her over the summer that she was the first woman to complete the course allowing her to work alongside combat troops. The job can include clearing mine fields, defusing or detonating roadside bombs and building or destroying bridges.

Anderson, a 20-year-old University of Vermont junior, says she hopes she can be a role model for other women in the military.

"I knew I was going to be one of the first, but I didn't know I was going to be THE first," said Anderson, a University of Vermont student.

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The U.S. military has been grappling for years with how best to integrate women in the services into combat. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the services to open all combat jobs to women.

Anderson said her interest in the military was sparked by her grandfather. She began talking to a recruiter in high school and took the oath on her 18th birthday, while still a senior in high school.